The Open

Free comp on the golf forum, decent prizes too, well worth a shot.

my 4 against the field ...b snedeker....345/1...troy kelly 1000/1....a romero 235/1...
t immelman 465/1/....a mixture of youth and experience..hopefully a few of these make the weekend.....looking forward to this feast of golf...the best open in the world imo....

my main 2 bets are harrington and g mac.....

then 5 outsiders , laird 170, r.rock 200, j byrd 240, r ramsay 400, m. baldwin 570.

will add  2 or 3  after round 1. GL all.

Powers 10/1 Tiger in shops

are p-owers the only ones paying 7 places

Bar-One & Stan also paying 7 places

Ladbrokes also 10/1 Tiger at the moment (don't know if it's a special or just on the drift)

Pod 25's with A McClean, 20's Westwood also.

http://www.amcleanbookmakers.com/golf/

Going to try to hold off until tomorrow

In the Masters week there was a clamour among some books to be able to say that they were best price on top 10/20/30/whatever so hopefully might a couple even bigger prices tomorrow

I guess we can take that those quoted in betting list are all taking part............. if so the old favourites for me one last time Jim Furyk, Greg Owen, who is coming home to play, and is after a rest,(I think),and Greg has been doing better in his more recent outings, also throw in Scott and Schwartzel, with Pod and Ben Curtis.
Good luck everyone thatz having a stab.

Zach Johnson 80/1
John Senden 170/1

Good Luck All

Have to do Hoey at 16,s again in top Irish market again,think its way overpriced, course looks as if its going to suit(Alfred Dunhill winner) looks to have only 3 serious opponents in Mcilroy,Harrington and Mcdowell.

Straight hitting essential so

Francesco Molinari
Jason Dufner
Zach Johnson

Three immaculate players from tee to green,Zach the best putter other two can be dodgy,Dufner fresh as he has had a rest the other two are bang in form but could be fatigued,they will give you a good run all the same.

Right I've done

Harrington 20/1
McDowell 35/1
Fowler 40/1
F Moliniari 50.0
Furyk 60.0
Dufner 60.0

Also going with

Harrington
McDowell
Fowler

plus

Zach Johnson
Ben Curtis

well i'll be ....wildmanfrombeorneo , having a bet on the golf ...may god forgive ye huddy etc ...

My bet is Tiger Woods top American at 5/2 with Laddies.

Best of luck!

Rickie Fowler
Jason Duffner
Padraig Harrington

A few speculative long shots in;
Gary Woodland
Thorbjorn Olesen
Robert Rock

Gl all.

no one mentioning lee westwood?course will suit him?

just 3 simple, perhaps, moneymaking lays for this open.

lay harrington top 5 at 6.2.
lay harrington top 10 at 3.8.
lay harrington top 20 at 2.1.

happy viewing possums.

He,s accurate off the tee and with his irons,putting lets him down is my take on him kavvie and 13/1 isn,t big for someone that hasn,t won a decent tournament for years.Not doing too well on the golf meself lately,sooo......
December in South Africa theres a course that really suits him(won last 2 years)

Some kahoonas on you KL, 2top 10‘s and a top 5 already first 2 majors plus his fav major!

BTW, Couldnt residt, 28‘s Pod. 1st round leader ew!

KL- that strategy would have cost you money at the masters and the us open
Dont understand your logic

im intrested also!!

In my opinion Tiger 10/1 and Rory 25/1 are good value bets at the current odds. A look at the graph shows both have traded at shorter than 5/1 and 7/1 respectively for decent money. What the lads taking these odds months in advance of the event are hoping to achieve is beyond me.
Any way I think if either makes any kind of decent start their price will collapse pretty quickly.
Both are worth decent back to lay bets.

I'll also have a few bob on Pod despite Keen Leaders views. I think he will go well
If i was going to lay him in any market it would be at 1.35 to make the cut as when he makes the cut there is no better man to grind his way up the leaderboard on major weekends as most of field go in the other direction

moneypenny, this aint the us open or augusta.
he has a poor late afternoon first day draw.

harrington is not exactly playing the par 5s with distinction on any course at the moment, that may not matter
here with 5 in play.

what is very worrying for his supporters is that his record here at lytham on the par 4s(11 holes) is alarming..back in 2001 he was 10 over par on the par 4s alone. this course does not suit him on all evidence to date, unless you can unearth some secret rounds he has played here.

if you are a pod fan, his stagnation in the climax at portrush has to be a worry. i have him down as having peaked for the season and another winless campaign is in store for his loyal supporters.

if he wins or goes close, i will lose my dosh with a smile. i see it as a case of head over ruling heart with these lays.

...typo..3 par 5s inplay...

ha i know workrider,went in again with a few more e/w coetzee noreen both 125/1,bubba watson 66/1,rose fisher 66/1,stanley 200/1,and ted potter 400/1,went for a little 3 ball trixie aswell for the early starters,john daly 15/8,gareth mulroy 6/4,and todd hamilton 7/4.

Tiger to miss the cut 4/1.
Nick Watney to miss the cut 2/1.
Really think this is wide open for a big shock few quid on
Stricker & Schwartzel both @ 70s,Woodland 300s & KT Kim 400s all e/w

Your really confusing me now KL
His record at Lytham is fine in the two opens he has played there
He shot two 68s when finishing in top 20 in 96 and he shot a 66 when finishing in the top 40 in 2001

Cannot for the life of me understand the support behind Rickie Fowler. Do you really think he'll have the patience to grind it out? Because that's the one thing that is guaranteed: to win you will need to have the patience of a saint. Fowler far too aggressive to have any chance of even being in contention imo.

Hoey having a nightmare out there. +6 after 13 holes

+8 thru 14

There are only 2 par 5s ---7th and 11th.
That should help Harrington because . puzzingly , his play at par 5s has cost him plenty this year....probably the worst record of any of the top contenders.

2 out of 3 in my trixie in the 3 balls,small profit,todd hamilton let me down by 1 shot

Harrington has always been good for a double at just the time you expect him to be picking up a shot - namely Par 5s - and, as Vibiant says, he seems to have gooten worse at them this year! If conditions worsen and become tough, there are very few players in the field who will relish the challenge more.

Nice start for Pod.

Ragged stuff from Pod so far.

1371859331  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Matt Kuchar  €1.00  €51.00  52  52     
1371858774  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Jason Dufner  €2.00  €98.00  50  50     
1371858361  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Jim Furyk  €1.00  €63.00  64  64     
1371857552  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Rickie Fowler  €2.00  €78.00  40  40     
1371857244  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Phil Mickelson  €2.00  €84.00  43  43     
1371857009  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Sergio Garcia  €2.00  €74.00  38  38     
1371856724  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Graeme McDowell  €3.00  €99.00  34  34     
1371856371  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Justin Rose  €3.00  €81.00  28  28     
1371856017  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Padraig Harrington  €4.00  €84.00  22  22     
1371855504  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Luke Donald  €4.00  €88.00  23  23     
1371855131  The Open Championship : Outright - Win Market  BACK  Lee Westwood  €6.00  €75.00  13.5  13.5

Fighting birdie at 18 keeps Harry in the hunt.
Not really fluent today -has to go about -4 tomorrow to get in the mix.

Very frustrating par round for pod. Needs a big change in the weather conditions tomorrow.

Wildman, kalanisi, WR and MP off to flyers. happy enough with Pod and Duffers, only 6 back out early tommorrow and a 67/68 will do thank you very much. GL all, even KL!

just greened up.....

Might seem like aftertiming but went with Peter Hanson (180) & Steve Stricker (80) - both nicely placed at -3, pity Stricker gave away the eagle on the very next hole,would have been 1 back otherwise.

well done workrider

Good spotting , moneypenny .  Tiger was down to 3/1 this morning , and Rory is 10/1 approx now .

I laid them both at stupid prices a few months ago , dont know who was asking to back them ( I just laid them at the time , did not put up any prices , just took the prices someone wanted to back at ) . Having said that , think both will be in the mix , but they cant both win apart from anything else .

Weather tomorrow may play a part .

Cheers Kelly, It never ceases to amaze me the prices that are traded on here months in advance of majors. Tiger wins a PGA tour event and guys are jumping all over each other to back him for a major thats months away.

You could have traded your lays for an easy profit or free bets on both pre-tournament but judging from your post I assume you let them ride.

Tiger was into 5/1 after 4 holes this morning and was traded at 3.6 after he birdied 7 to go 4 under. Was working this afternoon but I see Rory traded at a low of 9/1.

As it happens I havent had a bet on here at all. Books offer much better value on majors these days with better prices available on all the main contenders, with extra places, money back concessions etc

Padraig -2 thru 9. Keep it going son.

FFS - another bogey at a par 5 ...from the middle of the fairway. Unfathomable . Probably ended his challenge right there.

Oh would you believe it, pod bogey's a par 5.

At least there's only two on the course.

Jesus Christ, another bogey on a Par 5. Checked the scores about 10 mins ago and he was 2 under with the Par 5 to come. I'm thinking "birdie would get him right in the mix here" but not, he loses a bloody shot.

Unbelieveable

Was in the bunker off the green in 2, BBc went to interviews, how the feck he managed four from there is beyond me! still right there though.

You've gotta be one of nature's superoptimists Dep !

He's not right there now. Nine behind the leader with the -6,-5 boys to tee off.

Lads, open not won on a friday, Sned will shi t himself at the weekend. Now Pod do your bit -2 please!

back to par, 10 behind.

fecked now.

Is there a more annoying sound than Graeme McDowell's voice.

The 6 at 11 completely derailed Padraig's round.

Completely done with now.

and a bogey now, on the easiest hole.

Now beating me in my 3 ball bet too, was 3 up on fowler on 10 too.

Pity for Padraig as he didn't seem to play that badly, just made some silly errors coming in.


He'll stick at it in his usual style over the weekend and finish as high as possible.

Sned is on fire at the moment.

Well at least fowler doubled the last for half my stake in the 3 balls, just hope stricker holds on. Bitterly dissapointing back nine from Pod though Par 5 11 th wrecked him.

dan hes starting to sound more american tiger ffs.....

than tiger...

Dufner going well at present to lift the gloom.

Feckin McDowell missed a 6-footer on the last for a birdie

Missed a good few 15-20 footers on the back 9 there but that was a sitter really

g mac can't putt into a bucket.


mcilroy and pod dissapointing.

Looking like 1 of the top 3 of the the leaderboard to me now,Scott and Snedeker,s temperment may be questionable but 6 and 5 back to fourth is a fair bit with benign conditions tomorrow.16/17 mph for Sunday might make a difference,not sure that much. Can,t see a bet on it at the moment.

Traded for a healthy position on Olesen. Duffner my only other realistic chance. Shaping up for a good weekend, but I'll just let those two run for me as the prices look about right.

Please ,please .anyone but Woods.
Pod a bitter letdown -  4 over on the back nine was brutal ...Calcavecchia and Jimenez and several other pensioners played it better.

G-mac in good position. Hopefully Scott falls in a hole tomorrow.

1.02 and 1.03(nearly 1/4 million matched) under severe pressure

bogey,s last 4,feel sorry for him,poor fecker is nearly in tears.

the choke to top all chokes

a lot of money won and lost in those last few holes. unreal.

Feel sorry for Adam, played the best all week but that lip out on 16 just killed him.

Delighted for Big Ernie.

Agree , Dan .  But Ernie is one of the most genuine and nicest guys ever in golf  .  Plus he has 4 majors now .  And  2 in a row for the over forties !

Phew got out with a dead heat on my market.

Scott choked like no other. Barely believable but so did Tiger. +3 last 2 rounds like the Us Open is ridicilous weekend play tbh.

Tiger most certainly did not choke. He doesn't have control of his game at the moment and it's quite amazing he's still contending in top 5s of majors.
As for Scott's choke the much heralded Steve Williams did not seem to help down the stretch-he should have put an iron in his hand on 18. In a way I'm glad another player with a long putter didn't win. The rulemakers need to look at the part these play in the future of the game. The art of putting should be in the movement of the arms from shoulders to fingers rather than the added anchor of belly or chest.

I think Tiger choked Irish,

That is 2 majors in  a row. A Triple Bogey?? are you kidding me why not accept a bogey. Missed dozen puts inside 15 feet over the weekend. He is not hitting his putts with any conviction, instead of pushing them in he is just hoping. Now fair enough he got me out of a big hole on 18 with that putt but for me he is back but when the pressure is on he doesnt seem to make it happen.

Sure the Driver is a issue but he never was a good driver, its the putting. Just bomb those in Tiger. Make it happen like you used too!! instead of hoping just to stay in there.

Did you see the triple bogey? I wouldnt call it a choke-he hardly 3 putted from 10 feet.
As for his putting they are not going in like they use to but that's what seems to happen with age. Ernie is the perfect example of this-his long game has been as sublime as ever in the last year but he's had very few good putting weeks-he's missed many short ones when in contention in regular events he would have won easy in the past.
The likes of Luke Donald(who I happened to back this week) is a much worse offender than Tiger for what you call choking. No.1 in the world and on top of his game for the last 2 years he is not putting himself in contention for majors. Tiger is usually up there all weekend where the likes of Donald coming flying for a place finish without having to deal with the pressure of leading. Before Harrington set of a run of success in majors for Europeans this was a common issue for Europe's leading players. Westwood, Monty, Garcia all prime examples.

how can you say tiger choked??? hilarious statement. the only choker out there was scott. obviously.

By Tiger standards he has choked. 2 majors in succession, gone into the weekend top 5 few shots back or tied for the lead and put in a 4 really average rounds.

The irons off the tees started to go in the bunkers, missing 4 footers for par compounding the error on 6. 3 Bogeys in succession on the back 9, his putts struggled to get to the holes sometimes missing a few cups wide. Tiger has set the biggest highest standard and he will be fuming he lost today. He had the tourney in the bag this weekend. Two guys Snedeker and Scott fell apart and he should have picked up the pieces.

Now I am tigers biggest fan and he has won me soo soo much money, but he will know himself he should have won a major this year but he didn't. Now I think he will win the US PGA in a few weeks. Tiger once said he expect to win every tourney he entered, of course that is not a realistic assessment as every players plays poorly from time to time but he knows he let the big ones slip as he hasnt closed the deal as he can not trust himself on Major Weekends it seems. I think he is back and close to been as good as he has every been considering he has a shredded knee but until he wins a Major the question has to be asked.


Scott choked of course but he still has not won a major at 32 despite great talent. Westwood and Donald are also not clutch players on the biggest stage. Can't compare Tiger to guys like these he is being compared to players like Snead Jack, Palmer Hogan Watson. Men who have achieved great things.

The players mentioned above are not even in the converstation with respect to the above. Sir Nick Faldo is the best Golfer these Islands has ever seen and I am not sure even Rory will match his achievements.

How old are you ruby out of interest?  I have always had you down as one of the youngest lads on here, though I might be wrong.  Just curious, nothing behind the question.  I find you well informed and usually very upbeat.

keen leader the king.when he speaks...listen

It was a veritable chokefest out there.
Scott the most spectacular- plays holes 15-18 the first 3 rounds in two under with only one bogey --today 4 straight bogeys.
But Snedeker and Gmac too seemed to tighten when they looked in serious contention.
Consider the three together - first three days they play around in 25 under --last day in 15 over !
Some bouleversement.
Doubtful if Tiger choked in the classic sense - lost it with the Adolf. (crazy decision)

2 chokes in a row for McDowell having been in the last group for the last 2 majors now

Only one player choked yesterday in my opinion and it was Adam Scott (although McDowell hit some shockers). All the others going out thought they had to shoot lowish to win as Scott had a healthy lead and you can't go out and bank on him coming back to them even if they felt it a possibility.

As for Tiger he went along steady until getting that horror lie in the bunker on 6 and there was not much he could do about it. He triple bogeyed the hole and then knew he had to force the issue and pick up shots. He managed to find 4 birdies but bogeyed 3 too, he didn't choke he just had to attack and it's a lot easier to drop shots when you're attacking.

You had to feel for Scott yesterday, had that putt that lipped out on 16 dropped he would surely have got over the line but his approach to 18 was absolutely dismal. There was so much space to the right of the pin and he ended up missing on the wrong side. I don't know who to blame for 18, if they where playing short of the bunkers well make sure you end up short so why not take an iron, surely Steve who is such a great front runner would have made sure he didn't make that mistake. When all seemed lost he played a brilliant approach to 18 but then when he had his chance his putt was never even threatning the hole.

Great to see Ernie win again and to come home in 32 was stunning.

Agree the bunker put paid to his chances,his gameplay had to change then.
While still the worlds best not the player he was before injury?personal problems don,t think we will see that aura of invincability from him again,no doubt will win a few tournaments the gulf between him and the field has diminished dramatically.

i feel tiger will find it very hard to in a major again...even yesterday when he really needed to chase down els never mind scott he was taking irons on par 5s ....when he had no choice but to take driver he made a mess of it....the winner of any major has to be able to drive the ball ...this tiger can no longer do .....
i laid mc dowell in his 2 ball and was sure i'd won the bet easily , scary moments up the last ...as someone pointed out , why oh why did the caddie not give scott an iron and play safe....the question now is .....will he ever recover.....

Am no fan of Tigger.  Yet he finished 3rd, apparently playing poorly, choking etc etc....what does that say about the rest of the field?

Heaven help them if he ever plays well again.

ozymandius , i dont think its a question of him ever playing well again , more like father time has caught up with him ,like a lot of golfers hes had injuries over the years...  there is only a certain length of time one can remain on the highest plateau in any sport ....he is now on a downward spiral imo...

Everyone is writing off Tiger but he's still threatened the leaderboards of most majors in the last 2 years. Ernie Els couldn't even get into the Masters this year. As long as Tiger is there or thereabouts consistently like this the next major won't be far away. His blips are compared to his highs but his low points still surpass the majority of his fellow pros.

If anything workrider, he is on an upward trend again...back to number 2 in the world today.

I don't see him regaining his previous dominance but you never know, he isn't that far away.  As you say injuries play a part. Just a shame he can't seem to enjoy what he does.

ozymandis , he maybe on an upward curve compared to the last couple of years ...if you look at his round yesterday , the things  most dominant in his game were as follows unable to use his driver off the tee  ...short game not up to scratch ..putting woeful ...i suppose you're right ..he's getting back to his best....

Ozymandius I am early twenties. No worries.

Personally I thought Tiger game plan was spot on. He had perfected perfectly. He left himself easy pars and outside birdie chances but his putting was still not as powerful as it could have been. Now where it all went wrong was that when he was leaving himself 6 footers for par the stroke was tetchy and lets face it has some barely believable miss reads from 6 feet on Saturday. Then the pressure mounts on the rest of his game his irons of the tees are more conservative and keep putting too much pressure on his long iron game that is imperious IMO. Only so much time you can hit 200 yard irons shots to guarded greens. He made 4 birdies yesterday and 3 on Saturday but where he fell down was his mistakes, he could have prob hit another 2-3 birdies if had taken a driver off a few more holes. There is simply no point in leaving yourself 220 to a protected flag imo just take the risk, he gave away 10 shots to the course over the weekend, that is a stat that tells the tail. 10 SHOTS TIGER WOODS.

I think he is back, his irons are imperious and bunker play is as good as it has every been. Driving is better than it was but he did not fancy it at the Open which is fair enough. Its the 6 footers for par that are draining Tigers confidence and it affects the rest of the game. Just smash them in tiger like you used too instead of willing them in. His risk taking has gone out of his game completely. Older and wiser some will say but not when you have all the talent in world.

Does anybody think that Tiger is not happy with his caddy - in particular his short iron play seems to be off. I have watched tiger be woefully long or more often  short with his wedges and nine irons .  I know the caddy dosn't hit the shots but in a few tournaments this year tiger has been short of greens whe his ball should be dancing around the flag.

Tigers lack of distance control with his approach irons was a big factor last week .  Commentators mentioned it several times .  Result was he was under pressure on the putting surface , and eventually that drains confidence .  Then a downward spiral affects your whole game , and you become ragged .

Interviewed afterwards , Tiger said that most of his problem came from not hitting his putts hard eneough.  That might have been part of the problem as the greens never got above 11 on the stimpmeter , but fact was he was too far from the pin generally on approach shots .

Caddy might be a factor in approach shot selection . Few are in Steve Williams category  , but the Tiger /Steve combination aint going to happen ever again .  So a 15th major might come along , but its becoming less likely .